Community Connections

In the spring of 2020, when it became clear that the COVID-19 pandemic was going to cause major disruptions to everyday life, staffers at the Massachusetts Small Business Development Center (MSBDC) shifted into high gear. “Small businesses were frantic—particularly those in restaurants and hospitality,” says Allen Kronick, senior business advisor for the Western Massachusetts Regional Office, one of the nine business centers that make up the statewide MSBDC network. “Information was very hard to come by, answers were not there, federal and state programs were very complicated to access. We were able to help clients feel a little better and get some information.” The MSBDC is a partnership of the U.S. Small Business Administration, the Massachusetts Office of Business Development, and a consortium of institutions of higher education led by the Isenberg School of Management at UMass Amherst. The six regional business advisory centers, the Mass Export Center, Procurement Center, and Technology/SBIR programs offer in-depth one-on-one advising and training across the state. “We were people that small business owners—many of them mom-andpop companies—could talk to, and we could intervene to help them out,” Kronick says. At the same time, the MSBDC worked on the front lines to help Massachusetts companies that found their moment for success in the pandemic, including the Future Air Filters system, a product line started by the father-and-son team of James and Matthew Patterson. James Patterson’s HVAC business, Orchard Valley Heating and Cooling, is based in Southampton, Mass. When he learned about the devastating COVID-19 outbreak that took at least 76 residents’ lives at the nearby Holyoke Soldiers’ Home in early 2020, he began looking for solutions. He realized that a technology he was very familiar with, bipolar ionization, could be a great tool—it destroys viruses, bacteria, allergens, odors, and molds that are airborne and on surfaces by sending charged particles out into a room to purify the air. He had been using the technology inside the duct work of allergy-sensitive homeowners and businesses with high foot traffic for the past decade.

Since its inception in May 1994, the Massachusetts Export Center has assisted thousands of companies and individuals. Recognizing the need to make export services easily accessible to companies of all sizes, it was established as a specialty office of the MSBDC to serve as the state’s one-stop resource for export assistance, offering a full range of targeted, customized services to Massachusetts businesses at any stage in the export process. The Export Center recently moved to the Mount Ida Campus of UMass Amherst in Newton, Mass., just 10 minutes from downtown Boston.

He built a prototype of a unit that could sit within a portable enclosure, and thanks to donations from customers, he was able to present the Holyoke Soldiers’ Home with two air purification units. When nearby businesses and homeowners learned about the project, they were anxious to purchase units. James’s son, Matthew Patterson ’15 (pictured at left, with James), who graduated with a management degree and a concentration in entrepreneurship, joined his father’s team and focused on marketing the Future Air Filters. For advice, Matthew contacted Allen Kronick, whom he had worked for during an internship at the MSBDC. “The MSBDC referred us to many associations, grants, and assistance programs that were happening at the time for small businesses, as well as for businesses specifically working toward eradicating COVID and getting back to a new normal,” Matthew says, adding that the organization also helped with forming the identity, brand, and strategy for going to market. “Matthew was the marketing brains of the operation,” Kronick says. “We worked with him to help him develop markets, advertise his services to the right people, and do some networking.” The Future Air Filters units are modular boxes designed for ease of assembly and require no installation for the customer; they can simply be plugged in to begin purifying the air in enclosed spaces. The MSBDC connected the Pattersons with a statewide innovation challenge focused on slowing the spread of COVID-19. “We wouldn’t be where we are today without this connection,” Matthew says. “We placed third in the challenge, which was remarkable. We met dozens of brilliant business owners, investors, and other public figures who were all pushing to get through this difficult time using innovation as a catalyst.”

Because state revenues are dependent on sales, income, and employment taxes paid by small businesses, the MSBDC’s work with startup and existing companies allows them to contribute to the economic growth and stability of the commonwealth.

*Figures based on results of a survey conducted by James Chrisman on the impact of MSBDC services for clients receiving five or more hours of assistance in 2018.